Local wrestlers ready to break away

Area's best ooking for more in second half after NCCT results

Thompson Valley High School senior Francisco Marquez, right, competes against Bennett's Caleb Copeland in the 170-pound championship match for the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament on Saturday at Island Grove Park in Greeley. Marquez lost by technical fall.
(Steve Stoner)

GREELEY -- Dave Juergensen doesn't have many complaints at this point of the year.

When the first big best of the wrestling season comes to pass -- the 62-team Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament that concluded Saturday at Island Grove -- and you have a team sitting just outside the top five, life isn't bad.

But it can be better, and that's what the Thompson Valley High School wrestling coach wants his team to realize over the holiday break.

"I think we're right where we need to be, because this tournament exposed us a little bit and let us know that we're good, but we still have a ways to go," Juergensen said after the Eagles scored 171 points to tie for seventh. "It was a good test for some of our veteran wrestlers to see where they're at and where they need to get to. The first thing I said to these guys was that this will be our first real big test of the season to see where we are and where we need to get to."

Thompson Valley had four wrestlers place at the event. Francisco Marquez lost by technical fall, 20-5, to Bennett's Caleb Copeland at 170 pounds as the Eagles' and the area's only finalist. Parker Simington (138) was fourth, Ben Hewson (126) finished sixth and Tanner Williams (132) took seventh.

In Copeland, Marquez ran into a double-leg machine, one who is textbook in his delivery. He showed why he is ranked 20th nationally, and while Marquez was obviously disappointed in the outcome, he'd be more so if he doesn't learn from the match.

"I just need to push the pace and get my offense going," said Marquez, who is now 22-1 on the year. "I can't wait around and let someone else shoot on me. That really just slows my tempo down. I need to be more aggressive in those final matches and get things going."

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To a degree, that's what Juergensen wants his whole team to learn. He feels if they stay the same, the Eagles are a top-10 team at season's end. If they improve, they have a chance to contend for the title.

"We're giving up too many cheep points," Juergensen said. "The other thing where we have a ways to go is just our intensity level. Is it as high as it needs to be all match long? It's like our guys are getting there by the third period, but they're giving up too many points early on."

Marquez had considered dropping to 160 earlier, but he feels strong at the weight and doesn't have to cut weight. His confidence was also boosted after beating Adrian Mack of Discovery Canyon, 3-2 in the semis, an opponent who entered the day ranked ahead of him. For him, it was a big point, and he feels his teammates are each on the cusp of one themselves.

"There's a point with every team where there's that next level," he said. "We have a lot of kids who are at that point, where if they can just turn it up a little bit, maybe in the practice room and fix little things, then they'll fix some little things and it's just going to elevate them and our whole team. I think that's the biggest issue right now; we just need to kick it up to the next level."

The other local schools were also able to do some measuring of their own.

Berthoud and Loveland had one wrestler each place. Freshman Chad Ellis (152) took eighth, which was lower than he wanted, but the freshman was also looking at the first half of the season in a positive light.

"If you step back and look at the whole picture, I'm a little freshman and I have three more years of this," said Ellis, who is 20-8 and plans to cut to 145 after the break. "These kids are three more years mature, so you keep moving forward. Eventually, I'll be up there. Mostly (what I've learned) is I can hang with these kids. I thought it would be a much bigger jump from middle school to high school, and I'm right up there with them."

Dalton Weis (182) took fourth for the Indians, but while the senior has had a strong first half, coach Patrick Schlosser had dealt mostly with a young team, one he feels is starting to see the light.

What's impressed him most recently is the younger Indians' ability to push matches three periods, and for Schlosser, that's a big start.

"You should always expect to win. If you put the work in, you will eventually win," he said. "A win for these ninth graders might not be getting your hand raised, but battling, keeping yourself in there the entire match, giving yourself a chance to win."